The Truth is Generally Preferable
by Am
Summary: Will a "Danger, Do Not Enter, Unsafe" sign keep two Muggle boys from exploring an old ruined castle? Nah...


The day was cool and cloudy, but the grass was very green. Daniel and his little brother Benjamin had never been this far from home before. Having left the path long ago, they biked over the verdant hills in a last show of freedom before the school term started.

Daniel topped a hill steeper than the others and stopped, waiting for his brother. Benjamin, only nine to Daniel's thirteen, was having trouble. He would start up the hill, but couldn't pedal hard enough to make it to the top. Daniel was about to go back down and help when Benjamin's bike shot up the hill and stopped just behind his.

Daniel looked at him and bit his lip in eternal puzzlement. Things like that had a way of happening around Benjamin. If he wanted something to occur strongly enough, it sometimes would, like magic.

Daniel was still watching his brother, but Benjamin was looking at something else. "Hey!" he exclaimed, "Look at that neat old castle!" Daniel turned. In the distance he could see some sort of ruins that did actually remind him of a castle. "Cool!" he said. "C'mon, I'll race you down the hill!"

As they biked closer to the ruins, Daniel could make out a sign. _What does that say? Danger something…yes, Danger, Do Not Enter, Unsafe. Excellent! It's not only a castle, it's a dangerous castle!_

Benjamin slowed and said, "Hey, Daniel, does something seem weird about that place to you?"

"Not especially," Daniel said. "Other than the fact that it's a ruined castle. It doesn't look haunted or anything, if that's what you mean."

"No, it's not that," Benjamin said. "When I see it out of the corner of my eye, it doesn't look ruined anymore. In fact, it seems like somebody lives there."

"Things sometimes look strange when just catch a glimpse of them. When you look back, you see they're just as they were," consoled Daniel. Benjamin nodded and biked faster.

A feeling started in the back of Daniel's mind, and got stronger the farther he went. Discontentment, wanting to be elsewhere. As he got nearer, it became more clearly defined. He found himself thinking that this weather was really not good to be out in, it might rain, and he should leave this place and go home, maybe have a nice cup of tea curled up in his favorite armchair…He was about to turn back when a thought struck him. _I don't have a favorite armchair! And I don't even particularly like tea! What is going on?_ He pedaled harder. Next to him, Benjamin didn't seem to be having any trouble. Then again, Benjamin hated tea.

§ § §

Five minutes later they pulled up to the old castle. Daniel and Benjamin's unease vanished as they darted around, looking at the stonework and trying to guess the purpose of each broken building. The crumbling walls were still too high to see over, so Daniel suggested climbing them. "Yeah!" Benjamin said. "Maybe someone left swords and treasure and stuff inside!" They grabbed a hold of the wall, and, finding toe- and finger-holds with some difficulty, scaled it. They sat on the top for a moment before simultaneously hopping off—

—and landing with a hollow, reverberating _thump_ on a dark tile floor in a huge room. Daniel picked himself up, and he and Benjamin gazed at the room, which contained three staircases, seven hallways, some statues and a couple of suits of armor. _How did we get here? What is this place?_ He was sure Benjamin's thoughts echoed his own.

A tall woman with black hair and square spectacles came striding out one of the passages. She was wearing an odd garment—like a loose dress, but not quite—and a tall, pointy hat.

"Daniel," Benjamin said in a loud whisper, "she looks like a witch."

The woman—the witch, now that he thought about it—turned and saw them. She gasped loudly, said, "How did you—" and then peered at them, taking in their clothes, muddy shoes, and shocked and scared expressions. "Oh, dear," she said softly. Then, gently, "Don't be frightened. You must have a great many questions. If you will please follow me, I will take you to someone with the answers."

Benjamin looked up at Daniel, his eyes wide with fear. Daniel nodded curtly to the witch (the more he thought about the whole thing, the more he believed that it must be true) and followed her down a corridor. Bangs and shouts could be heard from behind the doors, and baffling snatches of conversation—"…five points to Ravenclaw, well done…" and "Now add the powdered snake fang…" The witch stopped in front of a gargoyle statue. "Turkish Delight," she said, and it hopped aside to reveal stairs. Daniel jumped and was on the point of running away. It was one thing to accept that magic was being done here, another to see it firsthand. "If you'll go on up and wait, I'll get the Headmaster over here to straighten this out." She hurried off.

Daniel and Benjamin were left staring up a winding staircase with steps that moved escalator-like. "D'you think we ought to?" Benjamin asked.

Daniel considered. Then he said, "Yeah. I want to find out what all this is about. Besides, if she really _was_ a witch, she might turn us into toads if we don't."

The enchanted staircase took them up to a circular room with a desk, a few closets, and several shelves. Benjamin's attention was immediately attracted to a bejeweled sword in a glass case, while Daniel's was on a most magnificent bird which sat on a perch. It was enormous, bright red, and had very knowing eyes. Daniel was still examining it when the door opened and a man stepped through.

The man was tall, had a long crooked nose, and wore much the same clothing as the witch, although in a vivid shade of purple. He had long white hair and gentle, intelligent blue eyes set in a grandfatherly face. He motioned for them to sit as he took his seat behind the desk. He looked at the brothers, tapping his fingertips together.

"You are Muggles?" he asked. The baffled looks on their faces were enough of an answer. "Yes, yes of course you are. I am very interested in how you got in. So before I give you my explanation, I should like to hear yours."

Daniel gave it: how they were out riding, how Benjamin had spotted the castle, and how they had ridden over to explore. When he started talking about that part, the old man interrupted. "How did you get past the wards?"

"Wards?" they asked in unison.

"Protective spells. Any Muggle who comes to close to this building feels a need to be elsewhere. How did you cross them?"

"Do they start off faintly and get more definite the closer you come?" Daniel asked. The old man nodded. Daniel answered simply. "I don't like tea."

The man looked taken aback for a moment, and then chuckled. "Yes," he murmured. "Perhaps those spells need updating. Do you like hot chocolate better? No, never mind."

"I didn't feel anything," Benjamin announced. The man gave him a piercing look, then pulled what looked like a dark polished chopstick to Daniel out of a pocket. He handed it to Benjamin. "See what you can do with that," he said, sitting back.

Benjamin frowned at it, and white sparks flew out of the end. He yelled and dropped the—_magic wand_, Daniel thought.

"Yes, I thought so," murmured the man as he got up and looked through his shelves for something. He took down a scroll and unrolled it. "What is your name?"

"Benjamin Hiller," the boy replied. The man glanced at the scroll and nodded. "Yes, that would explain a few things. And would have made it easier for his brother to get in…"

"Er…sir?" Daniel said hesitantly. "What is this place? And what did you mean just now, with Benjamin…" He had his own suspicions there, and he was not sure he wanted them confirmed.

The man put the scroll back and sat down again at his desk. He gave Daniel a penetrating look, and then his eyes softened.

"Somebody wise once said that the truth is generally preferable to lies," he said. "Ah, yes. I think I did." Benjamin giggled. "This place is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where young people with magical ability come to learn to use it." Daniel and Benjamin listened in awe as the man—Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, he called himself—explained about the hidden wizarding world. Daniel almost couldn't believe it, but after a few demonstrations, he could deny it no longer. He decided to ask the hard question.

"And—and my brother?" he asked.

"He is what we call a Muggle-born wizard," Dumbledore said. "A person with magical ability born to non-magical parents."

"I can do magic?" Benjamin said excitedly. He was taking these revelations with ease, probably because he was so young. "Cool!"

"Cool indeed." The Headmaster smiled.

Daniel suddenly remembered. "Headmaster Dumbledore, what time is it?"

The Headmaster took out a pocketwatch. "Almost five-o'clock. Do you have to be home soon?"

"We're supposed to be home by five!" Daniel said, panicking a little.

"Not to worry. I shall have someone take you home. And then, he will have to put a Memory Charm on you. You will remember none of this."

"_What?!_" Daniel was outraged.

"I'm afraid it must be done," Dumbledore said. He sighed. "If you had come perhaps even six months from now, it might not be necessary. You would find out in a year or so anyway. But it's too soon for you to know. You cannot be trusted not to tell anyone." Daniel and Benjamin opened their mouths indignantly. Dumbledore said, "You might be perfectly trustworthy. But I simply cannot take the chance. I'm sorry." Now he got up and threw something on the fire. "Staff room," he said, then, "Anyone there?"

A very small wizard appeared and stepped out of the fireplace. "Yes, Headmaster?" Dumbledore quickly explained the situation to him. "Of course. Boys, come along." They all went down the stairs, down the hall, and outside, where the brothers picked up their bikes. The three walked a ways, because, according to the small wizard, "you can't Apparate within the grounds," whatever that meant. Then the wizard put his hands on the boys, and the world melted around them. It solidified a moment later, and they were in a different place, close to their house.

"Cool!" Benjamin said again. "I can't wait until I learn to do that!"

"You won't learn for some years yet," the small wizard said, smiling. Then his face turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, boys, but it must be done. _Obliviate_!" he said, and then he Apparated.

Daniel was suddenly very confused. He had vague memories of biking out today, but he could not recall how he had gotten back. One clear thought came through, however. It was time to go home. "C'mon, Benjamin," he said. They walked back to their house.

§ § §

The Memory Charm had worked, well, like a charm. But somehow Daniel was not surprised two years later when he opened the door to find a tall woman with black hair and square spectacles, holding an envelope. "Hello," he said. "You're here about my brother, aren't you?"

§ § §

Note: Sorry if you were expecting another "day in the life of a minor character" story from me. That'll be back next week. (And if you haven't read them, do it now. Go on.)

Yet Another Note: NO ONE got brownie points; what I was looking for was "Waters of Iris" (goddess of the rainbow), or simply "Waters of the Rainbow." _Aquae_ was nominative plural and _Iridis_ was genitive singular, if you know your Latin.

The Not-So-Obligatory Thank-You note: Thank you to all of my faithful reviewers, who make writing worthwhile: Brianne, *MiCheLLe*, PJ Babington (gosh, I hadn't even considered the teachers; "A Day in the Life of Snape" has possibilities), miss moony, flutterfly blu, Karie (nope, not the prefects' bathroom, that pool is all mine), Caitlyn (yes, I know, I get Word of the Day. It is a fun word), Celeste Crest (thanks for alerting me; I changed that), Izzy, Rose (I'll try), metal mouth (I don't know about brownie points, but your reviews are my favorites), Rebecca Starre, METMA Mandy, jen, tigerlily, and Mladybug3 (All of them?!? Well, Ron's out, I won't be doing one of the trio; Percy: maybe; the others…I would have to think about them, they would be more difficult. We'll have to wait and see).


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